INTRODUCTION

Prophet Zarathushtra

The Preservation of Culture and Heritage in an increasingly mono-cultural modern world is the challenge facing communities today. UNESCO, New Delhi, has initiated the "PARZOR Project" as Project 302 IND 4070 entitled "Preservation of Parsi Zoroastrian Heritage - Campaigns and International Conventions."

Followers of the Bronze Age Prophet Zarathushtra of Iran, the Parsi - Zoroastrians are one of the distinct threads in the tapestry of multicultural India. Zoroastrians are still found in their original homeland Iran and are also spread thinly across the globe. While the Project was started with the aim of recording and reviving interest in the Parsi - Zoroastrian community in India, there has been an overwhelming response from other parts of the Indian subcontinent and the worldwide diaspora.

Over the past few years Parzor has provided help and information to scholars, the media, publishers and those interested in world culture. Contact has been established with Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan where the Zoroastrian links are being seen as a part of culture and history of the region.

Wherever they have settled Zoroastrians have used their talents and wealth for the benefit of the country in which they have made their home. Less than 0.01% of the Indian population, they have contributed greatly to the making of modern India. Well integrated into the mainstream for about 1000 years, they still retain a distinct ethnic and cultural identity.

Zoroastrianism, the world's oldest revealed religion, has survived from pre-history with its core beliefs still intact, a driving force that impels its followers to excel in all fields of human endeavour and contribute vastly for the benefit of humankind. Yet, in India, the community is declining so rapidly that they lose 10% of their population every decennial census. The Parsi - Zoroastrian Project intends to generate an awareness of this miniscule minority and create a revival of interest within the community, country and the world.